The fourth-ranked Fort Lewis men’s basketball team found itself in an unusual position in the second half of Saturday’s NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament opening round game against Dallas Baptist.
After a huge first half lead evaporated early in the second, Fort Lewis went down five points in the South Central Regional opener with less than 10 minutes to play. The opponents had all the momentum, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions were in unfamiliar territory, but the Skyhawks (28-3) rallied behind point guard Joshua Blaylock and sophomore Rasmus Bach to pull away down the stretch and claim a 95-87 win at the D. L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas.
“Hats off to Dallas Baptist for giving us one heck of a test,” Fort Lewis head coach Bob Pietrack said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We haven’t had many moments when we’ve trailed by five late in the game like that, but I was so proud to see our guys fight through it. It says a lot about the toughness and togetherness of this team.”
Fort Lewis will play Angelo State at 4 p.m. Sunday in the South Central Regional semifinal.
Blaylock had another incredible performance for Fort Lewis with 33 points on 11-for-15 shooting from the field and 6-for-9 from 3-point range.
“I thought Blaylock was the difference in the game,” Dallas Baptist head coach Blake Flickner said in a postgame news conference. “He was incredible. I’m proud of the way we fought back, but Fort Lewis just made a few more plays in the end.”
Bach had 19 points and eight rebounds off the Skyhawks bench. He also was 11-for-12 from the foul line and made a slew of clutch free throws down the stretch. Cade Kloster added 10 points.
Blaylock and Dallas Baptist’s Joey Miller were expected to put on a show at the point guard position, and the two All-Conference guards didn’t disappoint. Miller got off to a slow start with two first half points while his counterpart, Blaylock, had 14 and led a 17-0 first-half run that built an early lead for Fort Lewis. What was supposed to be a great matchup looked like a mismatch after 20 minutes, but that changed quickly in the second half.
The Patriots (23-9) came out of the locker room with desperation and quickly erased the deficit, as Miller started hitting shots and setting up easy baskets for others. He paced a 10-0 run that stunned Fort Lewis, as its 46-36 halftime lead vanished in a hurry.
With both big men, FLC’s Austin Haldorson and Dallas Baptist’s Patrick Burke on the bench in foul trouble, the point guard show that was expected finally came to fruition.
“Josh got hot early on and never really let up,” Pietrack said. “But, boy, Joey Miller was fantastic. We were lucky that it took awhile for him to get going. This was a battle of two All-American talents, and it was fun to watch.”
Miller was a magician in the second half, and his impressive play translated into a five-point Patriots lead with 10 minutes left to play. He scored 21 of his team-high 23 in the second half.
“Man, (Miller) was really good,” Blaylock said in a postgame news conference. “I just tried my best to make it tough on him off the ball screens, but he just kept making plays. I knew that eventually we could get some stops and make some baskets at the other end.”
Bach, Blaylock and company had an answer, however, as they have all season. Bach was a monster down low grabbing rebounds and drawing fouls in the paint while Blaylock scored from inside and out.
The Skyhawks were in the double bonus with 7 minutes left to play, and Bach took advantage. He buried the opponents at the foul line while Blaylock beat the tired Patriots to the basket for a few easy buckets. When the Skyhawks reclaimed the lead at 77-76, it was theirs for good as they knocked down one after another from the charity stripe to seal the win. Bach made four free throws in the final minute, while senior Jared Smith also knocked down a pair.
Amari Bryant finished with 19 points off the Dallas Baptist bench and Myles Johnson added 15. Kofi Josephs chipped in with nine points and Kody Salcido finished with eight points off the FLC bench.
jfries@durangoherald.com
